Make your kids excited to see your after-school snack creation. Or, better yet–get them involved making fun after-school treats that are allergy-friendly, vegan and top-8-free. These two fun, kid-friendly ways to dress up granola bars will fuel your kids with whole grains for a filling a mid-afternoon treat.

This post is sponsored by Enjoy Life. All thoughts and opinions are my own. There may be affiliate links.

I’m dying you guys–just dying. My son is set to attend school next week, and so begins the hunt for easy snacks to throw in school lunches or satisfying treats for after school.

When Enjoy Life said they had new granola bar flavors to try, I thought “perfect timing!”. They have three new flavors: Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed, Caramel Blondie, and Carrot Cake.

You and I both know that kids can get bored easily with food. And, if they’re like mine, they will eat things that seem different, fun, or something they can help create themselves. So, while my kids loved the granola bars plain, I thought it’d be fun to dress them up a bit.

Let’s start with the healthier version of the two:

GRANOLA & FRUIT KABOBS

You could really use any of the flavors, but we went with Carrot Cake, since it already has some fruit (raisins) in it.

The great thing about this version is that you can use whatever fruit you have on hand. Melons would be fun, pineapple, apples…you can’t go wrong. You can also pack the fruit on tight, or looser. I knew that my kids weren’t super hungry, so we went with littler kabobs.

Simply slide pieces of the granola and fruit onto the skewer and serve. Be aware that because these are such moist, soft granola bars I found I had to mold the piece of the granola around the skewer.

Slide the fruit and granola pieces onto the kabob in the order which you like. Feel free to mix up the order, pack on as little or as much fruit as your kids like. You can't go wrong!

If the granola bar crumbles, simply mold it around the skewer. To help with this, I put the granola bar on the ends to be able to better reach it.

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CHOCOLATE DIPPED CARAMEL BLONDIE GRANOLA SQUARES

This version is admittedly more indulgent. This is a sweet bar to begin with, but me and my kids just LOVE chocolate. It helps that Enjoy Life also makes a vegan, top-8-free chocolate chip package, so naturally that is what we used to dip them in.

My son had fun dipping the pieces in the chocolate, and it’s always nice to involve the kids when I’m making them food. I think it helps them take ownership and helps them be more excited knowing that they had a hand in it.

In a microwave safe bowl, pour the chocolate chips and top with the allergy-friendly shortening. Microwave on medium for 30 seconds at a time, stopping to stir it in between.

Once the chocolate chips are completely melted, dip the bottom (or the entire thing) into the liquid chocolate.

Place the dipped granola bars onto wax paper and allow them to cool. This can be done quicker if you place them in the fridge or freezer.

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In case you’re not convinced about these news flavors (my favorite is the Caramel Blondie), here’s some awesome points about them:

They are vegan, gluten-free, top 8 free, Non-GMO, Kosher, Halal, and made with no artificial ingredients.

They feature a new Pure Life Balanced Dry Blend™ flour, which is made from sunflower kernels, cassava flour, sorghum flour and quinoa flakes. I REALLY liked the quinoa fakes. My son can’t do oatmeal, but the flakes gave it that classic “oatmeal” texture you’d expect in a granola bar.

To help you try out just which flavor you want to dress up, I’ve partnered with Enjoy Life to give you 20% off single boxes! Simply go to this link and enter the code: CHEWYBLOG.

Whatever way you choose to dress up these allergy-friendly granola bars, I’m sure your kiddos will be as happy as mine!

A colorful way to sweeten up your popcorn that will make any 4th of July festivity extra special. With only three ingredients and no baking required, this Patriotic Popcorn will be a favorite holiday snack. It’s also allergy-friendly, so you can feed just about any crowd. It’s free of: gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nuts. It’s top-8-free!

A cool way to get in 10 grams of plant protein this summer. Full of red raspberries and probiotics, this is one summer treat you won’t mind your kids having lots of. This five ingredient popsicle that is made in your blender is free of: gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut and tree nuts. It’s also vegan, top-8-free, Whole30 and Paleo compliant!

A moist, chewy granola bar that is brimming with protein, pepitas, bananas and of course chocolate. This feels more like a treat than a filling snack. If you’ve been looking for an easy nut-free granola bar or an easy oat-free granola bar that is also gluten-free and vegan, you’ve found the right place! Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free.

I think the only time my oldest son has had a granola bar was some random specialty sample I’ve brought home from a conference. This fact really stinks since granola bars are a great grab-n-go snack that are filling and oh-so portable. I’ve been digging and digging for an allergy-friendly granola bar, but it seems they all have nuts in them, and even if they’re nut-free granola bars, they still use oats–which my son can’t do. I simply couldn’t find a good filling that would be easy to bind to, and give that great mouth feel.

Then, my son passed buckwheat in November, and once I saw the buckwheat groats, I knew this could work! Isn’t that the silver lining for food allergies? I don’t think I would have ever given buckwheat a second glance, but since it’s a safe food, you figure out how to use it. Food allergies can really expand your culinary skills and cause you to think outside your eating norms.

So, instead of nuts or oats, I used buckwheat groats. Instead of the regular peanut butter I subbed out a seed butter. And, instead of typical chocolate I was sure to use vegan chocolate. Thank goodness for substitutions to make this allergy-friendly!

One beef I’ve always had with granola bars is that many of them are dry as the desert. I feel like half of the bar ends up in my lap because they crumble when you bite into their dry texture. I love that these were chewy and moist thanks to the seed butter and bananas.

This nut-free and oat-free granola bar is great for breakfast on the run, an after-school snack or just a time when you or your kids need something to hold them over until the next meal.

Kids will love it because they’ve got a chocolaty base, as well as studded with chocolate chips. You could omit the extra chocolate chips if you want it to be a bit healthier or paleo compliant. I didn’t mind since it had other healthy ingredients. If you want more fruit, it’d be great with some dried cherries, raisins or cranberries.

These granola bars store well for up to a week as long as they’re covered or in a sealed container.

If there’s a recipe you’re wanting for your child, sometimes you have to wait a few years until something dawns on you, or until your child tests safe to something but don’t give up that goal! We allergy moms will always find a way.

A moist, chewy granola bar that is brimming with protein, pepitas, bananas and of course chocolate. This feels more like a treat than a filling snack. If you've been looking for an easy nut-free granola bar or an easy oat-free granola bar that is also gluten-free and vegan, you've found the right place! Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free.

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